The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Idaho Steelheads last night. It was Halloween night. Puck drop was at 7:00 PM. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Events Center. It was the third game of the season. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are the Vegas Golden Knights ECHL affiliate. They were coming off of a 3-1 victory over the Jacksonville Icemen. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 1-0-1 going into the game. They were undefeated in regulation. They were in 34th place in the ECHL. They were 10th in the Western Conference and 6th in the Mountain Division. The Idaho Steelheads are the ECHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. The Steelheads played four games. The Steelheads were coming off of a 2-5 loss to the Toledo Walleye. The Steelheads had a record of 3-2-0 going into the game. The Steelheads were in 11th place in the ECHL. They were in 11th place in the Western Conference and 3rd place in the Mountain Division.
The Idaho Steelheads played more games. The Steelheads had more wins. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a better record as they are undefeated in regulation. The Steelheads scored 12 more goals. The Steelheads allowed 7 more goals. The Steelheads had the better goal differential. The Steelheads had more points. The Knight Monsters had 49 penalty minutes. The Steelheads had 59 penalty minutes. I thought this game would be a good challenge for the Tahoe Knight Monsters early in the season. I expected some physical play. Not a lot. As this three game home stand goes on I expect the physical play to amp up more and more.
#1 Jesper Vikman (Yes-per Vike-Man) got the start in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This was Vikman’s third start in net. He has now played in all three of the Knight Monsters games as the starting goaltender. #19 captain Luke Adam did play despite being placed on reserve earlier in the week. Forward #17 Adam Robbins did not play despite coming off of reserve earlier in the week. Forward #10 Jett Jones was back after being recalled by the Henderson Silver Knights earlier in the week. Defender #46 Samuel Mayer was out after receiving a game misconduct in the last game.
#30 Bryan Thomson got the start in net for the Idaho Steelheads. This was his second game starting in net this season. Defender #59 Stanislav Demin was activated from reserve. Goalie #35 Tomas Sholl was activated from 14-day injured reserve. Defender Romain Rodzinski was placed on reserve. Forward Sam Sternschein was placed on 14-day injured reserve.
Nine minutes into the game, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. #12 Bear Hughes scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #7 Elijah Vilio and #13 Simon Pinard. The Knight Monsters were on the rush when Pinard passed the puck to Vilio from the other side of the offensive zone. Vilio had space and took a shot. Hughes tipped it in. This goal gave the Knight Monsters a 1-0 lead.
Twelve minutes into the game, #74 Connor Punnett of the Idaho Steelheads received a penalty for roughing. A little less than two minutes later, #12 Bear Hughes of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for slashing. The score was 1-0 Knight Monsters after the first period.
Four minutes into the second period, the Idaho Steelheads tied the game. #91 Mark Olver scored the tying goal. #67 Hank Crone and #18 A.J. White got the assists. Olver got the pass in front and buried his shot. The score was tied at 1-1.
A minute after the Steelheads tied the game, #59 Slava Demin of the Steelheads received a penalty for hooking. With under six minutes to go in the second period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters retook the lead. The goal was scored by #21 Sloan Stanick. #96 Brennan Kapcheck and #13 Simon Pinard got the assists. Pinard took a shot from the slot. Stanick got the rebound and scored. This goal gave the Knight Monsters a 2-1 lead.
Eighteen seconds after the Knight Monsters took the lead, the Knight Monsters scored to take a two goal lead. #19 Luke Adam scored the goal. #9 Troy Loggins and #15 Jake McGrew got the assists. The Knight Monsters were on the rush. Loggins got the puck to Adam in the slot. Adams shot found the back of the net. This goal gave the Knight Monsters a 2-1 lead.
With under five minutes left in the second period, #8 Ryan Orgel of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for slashing. The score was 3-1 Knight Monsters going into the third period.
Eight minutes into the third period, #15 Jake McGrew of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for tripping. The Idaho Steelheads did pull their goalie. Idaho did create some good chances. The Knight Monsters almost scored on the empty net a couple of times. The final score was 3-1 Knight Monsters. The Knight Monsters have won their first ever game against the Idaho Steelheads.
Highlights were not available as of writing this.
It was a solid game from both teams. The two goals in 18 seconds is what won this game for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. There was some physical play. Some high hits. Some players were looking to fight. If there are any fights they will likely not come until Saturdays game. Idaho did not have their starting goaltender in net. Goaltending may become a bigger factor in game two and three. Vikman had some really good saves. He was a key factors in the win. This game seemed a lot faster than the first two games. It seemed like there was less stoppages. It seemed like there was a lot less hold ups in the neutral zone. It seemed like the Idaho steelheads had a lot of offensive zone time. In the end the Knight Monsters capitalized on their chances while limiting what the Steelheads could do in the offensive zone.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had five more shots. This is the third game in a row that the Knight Monsters have outshot their opponents. The Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. The Idaho Steelheads gave up two more powerplays. The Knight Monsters had two more penalty minutes. Vikman had 21 saves for a 95% save percentage for the Knight Monsters. Thomson made 24 saves for a 89% save percentage for the Steelheads.
Tahoe Knight Monsters are now fifth in ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They are not in a playoff spot. They are one point (an overtime or shootout loss) out of a playoff spot. They are three points (a win and an overtime or shootout loss) away from the top spot in the division. They are one of now only two ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division teams without a regulation loss. They do have the second highest points percentage in the division right now.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters will take on the Idaho Steelheads for game four on Friday, November 4th. It will be a home game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM. The theme will be Wizard.
Zac Electrifly 
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